Hurricane Melissa brought devastation and death to the Caribbean as it tore through the region as one of the most powerful storms on earth in more than 150 years.

The storm was making its way to the Bahamas and Bermuda on Thursday morning as Jamaica confronted the devastation from one of the most potent storms ever recorded anywhere.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio pledges "immediate humanitarian aid" to Cuba as State Department responds to effects of Hurricane Melissa in the Caribbean.

Hurricane Melissa left dozens dead and widespread destruction across Cuba, Jamaica and Haiti on Wednesday, and it continued on to pass through the Bahamas as a weakened storm.

Melissa began affecting the southeastern Bahamas on Wednesday, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Authorities in the Bahamas were evacuating dozens of people from the archipelago’s southeast corner ahead of Melissa’s arrival as a Category 1 storm.

The death toll in the wake of Hurricane Melissa continues to rise after the catastrophic and historic hurricane tore paths of destruction across the Caribbean, making destructive landfalls in both Jamaica and Cuba over the past few days.

Hurricane Melissa pummeled areas of the Caribbean already vulnerable to landslides and flash flooding — made worse by decades of deforestation — with risks likely to continue for days, experts said.

The storm left widespread destruction and at least dozens of deaths in its path. In Chicago, people are looking for ways to help.